Canada, pushed to role of ‘junior partner’, rises to Keystone challenge

Keystone XL: Canada rises to pipeline challenge from U.S.

As the proposed Keystone XL pipeline prepares to cross the next big test in the United States — an updated environmental impact statement is due any day — Canada is increasing its efforts to influence the outcome.

Alberta Premier Alison Redford was in Washington on the weekend to talk to state governors, with the hope they will in turn be advocates with the administration and with policy makers.

On Tuesday, USA Today published an op-ed from the Alberta premier. It was a move to speak directly to Americans about Alberta, the home of the oil sands, and its efforts to be a global leader in both energy development and environmental management.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers is doubling down with its own rounds in Washington this week. The oil lobby group is being accompanied by several oil sands CEOs in meetings on Capitol Hill.

Federally, Foreign Minister John Baird met two weeks ago with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall made his point through a letter to the U.S. President last month.

They are doing what needs to be done to defend a big sector of the Canadian economy in this bizarre chapter of U.S. history, in which climate change has suddenly vaulted to the top of the agenda as President Barack Obama looks for a legacy he can actually deliver.

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As necessary as it is, it has the feel of a charade, in which Canada has been pushed into the role of the junior partner who has to provide assurance he’s not lying.

It’s a sad chapter, where the word of Canada, supposedly the United States’ most loyal friend and trading partner, has been allowed by the administration to be discredited by environmental lobby groups whose agenda is to shut down fossil fuels to accelerate the transition to economically challenged renewable energy.

It’s a chapter in which the U.S. is lecturing Canada about climate change, when it’s the U.S. that has been the policy laggard, and the president himself spent his political capital during his first term on other issues.

It’s a chapter in which oil from Canada is being put through the wringer, while other oil suppliers, including the United States’ own, are getting a free pass.

Nevertheless, Canada is rising to the challenge.

Is Canada perfect? Hardly. But it’s the master of its own environment, and it’s shown a lot more leadership in defending it than the U.S. deserves

The good news is that the job is made easier by the fact there isn’t a big gap to close to be aligned with the new U.S. priorities, since the portrayal of the oil sands by the green lobby is so dishonest.

It’s a point the Alberta premier addresses in her op ed.

“The president’s comments during his recent State of the Union address are fully in sync with Alberta’s commitment to strong environmental policy, clean technology development, a healthy energy sector, economic growth and plentiful job opportunities for the middle class,” Ms. Redford writes.

“We stand ready to demonstrate our strong track record on responsible oil sands development. And we are prepared to work with our federal government and our American friends to push the bar higher in addressing climate change.”

But the premier also offers a subtle warning that development will move ahead, regardless of the Keystone XL outcome.

“Projects like Keystone XL only reinforce our commitment to responsible oil sands development,” she writes. “We can have it both ways. And we will.”

Meanwhile, the CAPP-led mission involves meetings with Democrats and Republicans in both houses of Congress, bureaucrats and multiple think tanks.

It will be supported by Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), the group formed last year to accelerate the pace of environmental improvements through industry collaboration.

The CEOs will talk about some of those improvements, the role of Canada in contributing to North American energy self-sufficiency and offer the straight goods about pipeline safety and domestic regulation.

Is Canada perfect? Hardly. But it’s the master of its own environment, and it’s shown a lot more leadership in defending it than the U.S. deserves.

The State Department is expected to release a draft supplementary environmental impact statement on Keystone XL around the first week of March. It should indicate whether Canada’s voice has been heard, or whether the State Department has bought into the oil sands smear campaign.